Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) for Nurses

Developed by QPR Institute,Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) for Nurses is a 3- to 6-hour online training program that teaches nurses how to detect, intervene with, and manage someone at risk for suicide. Nurses have a high degree of exposure to suicidal behaviors in the work setting, especially in hospital emergency departments, and training in suicide prevention, intervention, assessment, treatment, management, and postvention is limited in nursing curricula. To address these training deficits (and with an emphasis on patient safety and emergent practice expectations), this online interactive program teaches nurses at all levels of training and experience how to use the basic QPR Gatekeeper Training for Suicide Prevention within their social networks; how to screen for suicide risk (using a modified version of basic QPR); and how to conduct and document a suicide risk assessment. The QPR for Nurses program offers two certificates. One is for three hours of training in basic QPR, screening and brief assessment. A second certificate (an additional three hours) includes: how to help families; means restriction/environmental safeguards; and a lecture series on foundations in understanding suicide, followed by a national knowledge mastery exam. The second certificate (QPR for Nurses Certificate in Suicide Prevention) requires the completion of an additional five modules for a total of at least six hours of online training.

Established QPR training protocols were adapted for nursing applications through collaborations with the Washington State University College of Nursing in Spokane, Washington, the Emergency Nurses Association of Colorado, and beta testing with nursing groups in Indiana and California, whose members provided peer-reviewed input. The QPR-specific suicide screening questions were developed as part of the federally funded Emergency Department Safety Assessment and Follow-up Evaluation (ED-SAFE) project. Assessment protocols are based on the BPR-registered QPRT Suicide Risk Assessment and Management Training Program.

Program Objectives

Nurses who complete QPR for Nurses will have increased:

1. Knowledge of warning signs and risk factors for suicide.
2. Ability to recognize those at risk for suicide.
3. Ability to assess suicide risk.
4. Intervention skills with those at risk for suicide.
5. Self-efficacy in terms of intervening with suicidal patients.

Implementation Essentials

• QPR for Nurses participants should have knowledge of, and be trained in, institutional protocols for those at risk for suicide.

2012 NSSP Objectives Addressed: 

Objective 7.2: Provide training to mental health and substance abuse providers on the recognition, assessment, and management of at-risk behavior, and the delivery of effective clinical care for people with suicide risk.